Linda Blondheim Art Studio News

Poor Man's Creek
12x16 inches
oil on Masonite
700.00
unframed
free shipping

Purchase HERE





“Small Works/BIG Ideas/ Thinking Inside the Box” will open at the Melrose Bay Art Gallery on Sunday, November 8, 2009 with a reception from 1-5 PM. This show features over 100 original works of art in a variety of media by 52 recognized as well as emerging local artists.


Artist participation was by invitation only and the requirements were simple: each artist was given an overall allotment of 432sq inches, all work had to be original, framed if appropriate, with outside measurements not exceeding a total of 144 square inches per piece. In addition each artist was assigned specific size dimensions for hanging space, so “thinking inside the box” was necessary.


Why small works? Because art created on a small scale is both intimate and indescribably powerful. This particular format also has the potential for making the work of a favorite artist more economically accessible and art patrons will have a wonderful opportunity to acquire art for collecting or for giving.



The Melrose Bay Art Gallery is open every weekend from 10 AM to 6 PM on Saturday and from 1-5 PM on Sunday. “Small Works/BIG Ideas/ Thinking Inside the Box” will be up from Saturday, November 7 through Sunday, December 20.


* * *
Melrose Bay Art Gallery
open Sat 10am-6pm & Sun 1-5pm
103 State Road 26 at Centre Street
PO Box 36
Melrose, Florida 32666
(352) 475-3866
new email address:
melrosebayartgallery@gmail.com
www.melrosebayartgallery.com

My Annual Studio Sale is in progress in Gainesville Florida, at Books Inc. corner of NW 13th Street and NW 5th Avenue, just 5 blocks north of the University of Florida entrance.

November 1-30, 2009

Latest Press Release- North Florida Muse Melrose Bay Gallery July 2009

North Florida Muse

Linda Blondheim’s new North Florida Muse exhibit at Melrose Bay Gallery on State Road 26, Melrose, Florida is a “must see.”
Dates of Exhibit:
7/01/2009- 7/26/2009

Opening:
Saturday July 11, 2009
10AM-4PM

Gallery Hours:
Saturdays 10AM-6PM
Sundays 1-5PM
Come join Linda for a Hot Dog picnic and enjoy her paintings.
Blondheim is passionate about her beloved north Florida. Her farms and ranches show pristine pastures that house fat cattle, ranging in color from honey to sienna to mahogany and jet black. Majestic, long-armed, mossy oaks and tall, graceful palms guard the cattle as they graze along historic Orange Lake. On the land side of County Road 225 in Evinston, Blondheim paints at graceful and elegant Fair Oaks Farm with her French Bulldog Henry.
Whether she focuses on landscapes, rivers and lakes, or, in her new series, Florida Farms and Ranches, Blondheim throws every bit of her skill into artistically capturing and preserving the South in which she was born, has raised her daughters,and is a self-supporting artist. Blondheim’s paintings about farms and ranches will include such historic land owned by farmer Freddie Wood and his wife Wilma Sue Wood of the Wood Swink Post Office, the oldest working post office in Florida, a combination antique store, post office and produce market. Through her reverent depictions, you’ll be invited to step back in time, pull a chair near the old wood stove, play checkers, and buy a cola out of an old metal drink box.

Says Blondheim, "Freddie Wood and I have a dream to make Evanston [FL} an art destination. There is an old shack on the Wood farm that could be re built into a painter's cabin for visiting painters. The Wood Swink could become a fine gallery for original Florida landscapes. The large packing shed could become an art center for classes and workshops. We hope that a benefactor will come forward to help preserve this wonderful Florida town for artists and visitors.”
Through her north Florida Muse you’ll see beef cattle, feed sheds, barns, packing houses, fish camps, and fields of tall grasses.
Take a pictorial stroll on such horse farms as Town and Country (a thoroughbred breeding facility in McIntosh) and Rabbit Hill Farms located on county road 320, owned by Louise and Kiki Courtelis.
You’ll imagine you hear cattle lowing and owls hooting. Blondheim’s painted world is the rural South, the music of nature, and the visions of the critters, all just as desperate as you to escape the city’s lights, noise, and congestion.
Deeply committed to Southern Culture—what she knows, understands, and loves—Blondheim is also a realist. A supporter of the Alachua County Land Trust and Florida Land Trust, she realizes that not only is she painting what she knows, but she is preserving it as well. Barns may collapse from disuse and time, horses and cattle may become displaced by human “development,” but Blondheim’s paintings will capture and save forever the South that once was, still is but less so, and that may disappear into Progress.

Blondheim says of her North Florida Muse series, “Natural Florida is our state treasure. We must preserve these beautiful lands, rivers, marshes and crystal springs with their culture as a historical testament to the real Florida that is rapidly vanishing. My North Florida Muse series is a tribute to the farmers, ranchers, land and water conservationists of Florida.”
For additional information, see:

Linda Blondheim
Studio 386.462.5726
http://www.lindablondheim.com




lindablondheim@gmail.com

http://linda-blondheim.blogspot.com
-For collectors


http://melrosebayartgallery.com/home.html



http://www.cowartandmore.com

http://www.floridaseden.org/guide/index.php- about the Wood Swink.

http://www.amelianow.com/winter00-cattle.htm cattle industry history in Florida

http://floridacrackerlivinghistory.com/

http://home.comcast.net/~711trish/flcrack.html

A Melrose Florida Adventure, Finding Art

Anastasia State Park
St Augustine Beach, Florida
12x16 inches
oil on Birch panel
700.00
shipping 20.00
HERE

Friday I took a day trip with my mother and sister and of course, Studio Dog, my French Bulldog, also named Henry. Studio Dog is his stage name, since he is quite famous, at least in his own mind. :>)

We decided to go east, exploring the little towns of Windsor, Earlton, and Melrose. They are all quite small and Melrose is the most interesting and the largest of the three. It is a sort of lakeside bedroom community for Gainesville and quite artsy in populous and style. Well know architect/author Ron Haase lives there along with several local and regional artists. There is a lovely little local gallery on State Road 26 called the Melrose Bay Gallery, and another called Bellamy Road. They seem to be connected in that they often have themed shows together. I am to have a one woman guest show there in 2010, featuring my Farms and Ranches Series.

There is a fair amount of Victorian architecture there with a couple of nice parks and the lovely lake Santa Fe dotted with old cypress trees and boat houses on stilts. It is a scruffy old town full of character, with some newer upscale homes carefully landscaped. There is a quaint little strip shopping center with a coffee house, some gift shops, bait and tackle shops and two or three restaurants, around town from down home, to pizza, to the elegant and interesting Blue Water Bay Restaurant HERE

By elegant, I don't mean the facility, which is a typical looking seafood restaurant. What I mean by elegant, is the attention to detail, with white linen cloths, real linen napkins, fresh flowers at each table, outstanding bar and restaurant service, and delicious and interesting cuisine. We had shrimp and Grouper with sides of Mango cole slaw and red beans and rice, both absolutely delicious. the fish and shrimp were cooked to perfection, just done. The plate presentation was nice, the dessert key Lime Pie was excellent and tart with real whipped cream, and the coffee excellent.

They have a full bar , separate from the main dining room, which is a nice idea. The bar is dark and cozy, with booths for dining as well. I was also quite impressed with the wait staff who were very knowledgeable about local activities, and the restaurant history. Our waitress was attentive without being annoying and very solicitous to my elderly Mother. I appreciated that so much.

The walls were decorated with art from local artists and that made me happy that they support the artists in their community. There were colorful and interesting stained glass fish in the windows to brighten the restaurant with splashes of color. It was an outstanding dining experience.

Finding Art Outside of the Formal Gallery Scene

Commercial galleries are only one of the ways to find good quality original art. Small local Cooperative galleries display a variety of art from inexpensive amateur paintings to well know regional artists work. Restaurants and cafes often display emerging artists paintings as well as business offices, libraries, and bookshops. All of these alternative spaces have interesting shows and themes.

These days more and more professional artists are using their web sites as Internet galleries to show and sell artwork directly to patrons. In fact, my web site and studio sales far outweigh my traditional brick and mortar gallery sales now. I always offer full satisfaction and shipping all over the USA. Most artists do these days. You can purchase work instantly from your favorite artist no matter where you live. I have an agent who handles all of my International sales as well. Art is shipped around the world ever day now. There are so many more opportunities to buy original art than there ever were in the past.

See and purchase my paintings HERE with a full money back guarantee.